After stumbling across this post on Oh So Amelia blog I’ve decided to start a TOP 5 series on my blog. Whether you’re a new parent, grandparent, or looking for gift ideas, the amount of products out there can be pretty overwhelming.

Since launching Lamb & Bear I’ve been lucky to try a handful of prams and buggies. I’ve also tested for the Mother & Baby awards for 2 years running and both years I have been sent prams and buggies to test and review. I have to admit I’ve developed a slight obsession with prams and currently have 5 at home, have given 2 to my brother and sister-in-law, 1 to my mother-in-law and one to a friend!!

From all the testing I’ve been doing I feel I’ve gained knowledge in what you need in a pram and which ones I think are worth buying. Obviously I haven’t tested every pram on the market so I’ll make sure I update this list if my opinion changes and I find even better ones!

So here’s a post on my top 5 prams suitable from birth. Let’s begin with my absolute favourite.

This is the pram we currently use with Lamb. We actually bought this pram because we heard so many great things about it, and it was worth every penny! It’s designed like a stroller, but is heavier and much sturdier. My favourite features are the one hand fold (there’s a handle on the seat you pull and the whole pram collapses), the extra large hood, and how easy it is to push (even one handed). This is suitable from birth and can also be converted to a travel system by attaching a maxi-cosi car seat (something I will do when we have another baby). It’s pricey for a stroller but really worth it.

We were sent the Joie Chrome last year to test for the Mother & Baby Awards and I really liked it. In fact, we’re still using it now! The Chrome is a travel system and can be bought with a car seat, carry cot, plus the standard seat (see photo) which can be parent or world facing. This pram is now sold as the Chrome Plus. What I loved about this pram was the huge storage basket which was easily accessible, it’s super lightweight and easy to push, and the seat sits up nice and tall for Lamb to look around. I would definitely consider buying the car seat and carry cot for this pram to use when we have another baby. Another bonus is you don’t have to remove the seat the fold down like you do with most travel systems. You can read my full review here. I also reviewed the Joie Stages car seat here.

The Britax Affinity was sent to us last year for the Mother & Baby awards. Oh my is this a stylish travel system. I mean, just look at it, it’s stunning. For a travel system I was really impressed with the weight, much lighter than the huge Silver Cross I bought off eBay when Lamb was born (we didn’t keep that for very long). It has a large storage basket, good size hood, comfy, padded seat and additional features like a bumper bar. I found this pram really easy to push. The seat can be both parent facing and world facing, and what’s even better is you don’t have to remove the seat to fold down! Bonus! Quite pricey, but if you’re using for 3 or 4 years definitely it’s worth it.

I do love Cosatto products. It’s so refreshing to have a brand produce such fun and colourful products. We absolutely love our Robot Cotbed which you can read our review on here. We were give the opportunity to try out the Ooba for a day while we were at The Baby Show in Birmingham. I’ve only used this pram briefly so I can’t give you my full opinion, but I found the pram really easy to push around, however make sure the big wheels are facing backwards! I began with them facing forwards which is more for off road. Oops. There are loads of fab features like a hand brake, adjustable handle (can switch the handle from from facing to rear facing), leather accessories and large hood. Take a look at other Cosatto prams if you want something really special.

This year we were sent the Silver Cross Reflex to try out. As far as strollers go, I much prefer 3 wheelers, however I actually really liked this pushchair. From a distance the Reflex looks like your standard umbrella fold stroller, however it is much more than that. It has so many extra features. It can actually be fitted with a car seat and adjusted to be parent facing. It fully reclines, has an extra large hood and comes with a bumper bar. If you’re a family in the city then a pushchair like the Silver Cross Reflex is perfect for you. It folds small is pretty lightweight, but looks really stylish. The price tag of £250 for the stroller (not including the car seat) is more than you would expect to pay for a stroller, however like I said, this is more than just a stroller.

So there’s my top 5 prams suitable from birth. Like I said earlier this is based on prams I have tried out myself, so you may find better alternatives by reading other reviews.

My advice when looking for a new pram is be realistic. Do you really need a travel system? If so how big is the boot of your car? Will it fit? Would a stroller that can fit a car seat be more suitable? If so do some research and read plenty of reviews about the ones that are more suited to you.

Do you want one pushchair for the whole time you’re child is using it, or are you happy to buy a travel system, then buy a lighter one when they get bigger? Pushing a toddler in a pram isn’t as easy as pushing a newborn so keep that in mind when buying your pram. If you buy a heavy one to begin with, it’s only going to get heavier!

Do you travel a lot? Do you need something more suited to off road? We’ve tried out the BOB Revolution Pro before which is absolutely massive, but unbelievable off road. It’s heavy and bulky but so smooth to push, a real shocker!

I hope you’ve found this post useful. If you have any further questions about the prams mentioned please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you 🙂